Human Beings Wrote the Bible

Human beings wrote the Bible,

and each human being who helped to write

each part of the Bible over so many centuries

each carried in their own human foibles and fallibilities,

their own human prejudices, and

their own human understanding of who God is

and how God is at work in the world.

Each interpreter of Biblical languages, literature, and cultures,

In so many centuries since,

has also been a human being,

and has also carried in

their own human foibles and fallibilities,

their own human prejudices, and

their own human understanding of who God is

and how God is at work in the world.

Our current and future understanding of the Bible,

its original languages, literature, and cultures,

our own human understanding of who God is

and how God is at work in the world,

will continue to be shaped

by our own human foibles and fallibilities,

our own human prejudices, and

our ever-evolving understanding of

science, archaeology, arts, history, and other

fields of study.

Let us never believe that we have uncovered

Everything there is to know

about the Bible, or about God.

July 2025, Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes is working on the Confession of 2025, an Ecumenical Refutation of Christian Nationalism and a Call to Christian Inclusionism.

#Confessionof2025

A Pastor's Job Is Not to Convince People...

Unpopular opinion: A pastor's job isn't to convince people that any particular Bible story is literally true; it's to help them understand why people felt it was important to write each part and preserve it for future generations-- how does it help people come to terms with issues they face in their own lives, such as suffering, grief, love, vocation, and family struggles?

Some of the Bible is poetry.
Some is is metaphor.
Some is fable.

Most of it was passed down around the campfire for thousands of years before it ever got written down.

Some of it is cringeworthy, dysfunctional family stuff.

A lot of it is how people interpreted things that happened to them: military victory or defeat, famine, exile.

A lot of the Bible isn't about the 'afterlife,' it's about daily life, and how people have coped throughout the centuries.

Many people today still find that certain passages 'ring true,' or help them gain insight into their lives, relationships, anddaily struggles.

Pastors can foster this deeper level of understanding by providing historical and cultural context in preaching on a text, as well as in pastoral care. When we help people understand how different Biblical passages were written by particular people for particular purposes and people, we can also help them avoid applying Biblical passages in ways they were never intended, to do harm to people today.

There's Nothing 'Christian' About Transphobia

There's nothing 'Christian' about wanting to harm transgender people or their families.

Gender divergent people have always existed and always will, and your untrained preacher's bad Biblical scholarship isn't going to make that any different.

All these laws trying to exterminate transgender people, as well as immigrants and other targeted groups, are no different than what the Nazi government was doing to all sorts of people in the decade prior to the gas chambers. It's called 'Nationalism,' and it is not what Jesus taught.

It simply boggles the mind how the Gospel has gotten so twisted, especially in the United States.